What’s happened?
It’s the middle of summer and already Valpo has been bustling with activity. For students, no school and no homework means there's plenty of freedom! There are so many activities for students to take part in like riding bikes, driving through the country, shopping, grabbing dessert, or seeing a show, and luckily, Valparaiso makes all those options a possibility.
Central Park Plaza in downtown Valparaiso has been showing movies such as Despicable Me 3, The Lego Ninjago Movie, The Lion King, and Jumanji (2018). Plus, the Fireworks show on July 8th was phenomenal and paired well with the unique artwork and performances associated with The Pop Up.
June also brought Chalk the Walk to the area. Chalk the Walk is an annual event that takes place in downtown Valparaiso on the sidewalks all around the courthouse. People young and old could come and admire the hard work of artists on sidewalk squares all around the courthouse.
What’s going to happen?
Since it is the middle of summer, downtown Valparaiso is bustling with unique and exciting events such as the Summer Rhapsody Music Festival occuring on July 12, 19, 26, and August 2, 9, and 16. There are plenty of exciting bands coming to perform at the Central Park Plaza like Cracker, Mike and Joe, and Jagertown to name a few.
Urschel Pavilion also hosts some excitement on Tuesdays and Saturdays with the Valparaiso Market. Head over to get fresh produce, handmade products, and beautiful plants and flowers. On July 19, Front Porch Music, one of two of the amazing local music stores, is doing an open porch, where you can sign up to sing for $3.00 or you could listen for $4.00.
In two months from now, The Popcorn Festival is happening! On September 8th the parade will occur, with its countless exciting floats and acts! Afterwards downtown will be packed with vendors where visitors can purchase items or food, help an organization or two, get henna, and plenty of other options.
This summer has been fun, and exciting so far with lots of events and places to go to for everyone young or old. While the summer seems to be flying by, there's still plenty to do, even outside of the festivals and events.
Near the Valpo YMCA, Valparaiso houses a beautiful, walkable art exhibit. Nearby there are also nature paths and places to admire the scenery!
Teenage Spotlight: Carson Brooks
How old are you? 16
What activities have you done so far in high school?
Student Council, Team lead, and Awakening Youth.
What position were you in those activities?
Vice president of student council, Officer in team lead called Crew.
What are you going to do now in high school?
I’m not sure, definitely Student Council.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I see myself in college!
I heard that you went to Guatemala, could you tell me a little bit about the trip?
Guatemala was an awesome experience full of Christ’s Love!
What did you do while in Guatemala? What was a day like?
I served at a local church and had fun doing it! We woke up and then had breakfast and then served at the church, then returned to the Seminary.
Adult spotlight: Courtney Woods
How old are you?
I am 24 years old
How long have you been with the library?
I started volunteering when I was in 6th grade, but I’ve worked here for 5 years.
Who or what inspired you to work at the library?
I’ve always been around books basically my entire life, my mom used to own a bookstore, so it’s just the natural love of books that I have and the love of helping people find books to read.
Is the library hosting any events or are they participating in any events this year?
We are doing some outreach during the downtown movies when they have the outside showing of the movies. We’ll be down there every time that it goes on. I know that we are planning on being in the popcorn parade again. There’s a lot more but those are the couple of things off the top of my head.
What has the library tried to do to help make Valparaiso more positive?
I know that we are trying to get out there and show that we are here and kind of make sure that there’s a library to help education.